Mar 25 Oslo goes wireless charging

Oslo will be the first city in the world to deploy wireless EV charging systems. Finnish firm Fortum in installing induction technology at the city’s taxi ranks, with charging plates slotted in the road and linked to receivers installed in the vehicles. The electricity will be derived from renewables.

"We will install the wireless chargers at taxi stands, such as the one at the Oslo Central Station,” says Annika Hoffner, head of Fortum Charge & Drive. “Taxis will be able to drive up to the charger and a wireless charging session will automatically start. This allows the taxis to charge in a place where they would anyway be waiting for new customers.”

"Wireless charging is a potential game changer,” says Sture Portvik, the City of Oslo's electro-mobility manager. “From 2023 onward, all taxis in Oslo will be zero emission.”

Norway has a target of having all new cars sales zero-emission by 2025 – in 2018, 49% of all new car registrations were electric.